"The Greatest Among You"

"I cannot carry the ring for you, Mr. Frodo. But I can carry you" Samwise Gamgee declares with courage and perseverance mingled with tears of despair. So he hauls Mr. Frodo up and painstakingly puts one foot in front of the other, inching up the slopes of Mt Doom.
I observed Samwise Gamgee through the movie with wonder and awe.
Who is there so faithful? Who is there that lives such an un-offended life? If anyone had the right to be offended and leave Frodo to his death, it was Sam. But no, he returns and re-doubles his determination to assist Mr. Frodo.  The honor and respect he treats Frodo with was not a showing of his lowliness, but rather a bright reflection of the glory that he carried.
I saw Biblical values come to life through the characters of this movie.

As the exhausted Samwise Gamgee carried Frodo up, one important truth rang clear: carrying the ring was not a more significant task than assisting the one who carried the ring.
Who in the movie was the greatest of all?
"The greatest among you will be your servant." Matthew 23:11 Whispers of the words Jesus spoke flow like a mysterious wisp through the ages, as the greatest of all stooped down to wash the feet of fishermen.

Who was the most important in the movie?
Who was entrusted the more significant task?

Of course, the world continues to place value on certain talents and abilities, and devalue all others. Oh, isn't it wonderful that our ultimate reward comes not from man but from God?
It is under His loving gaze that we fulfill our role.
It is for Him alone that we walk out our destiny with faithfulness, not comparing our task's to those others have been given. It is not for us to judge, merely to fulfill our destiny knowing that the greatest honor is given to those who walk in faithfulness.

Doctor's verdict: Cancer free!

"Your just sending me home with medications? Why haven't you started any chemo or radiation plans?"
"Sir, your cancer is in stage four and has advanced too much for chemo to do any good. Your PSA count is 490. A normal PSA count is between 1 and 3. Bruce, I am sorry... but you will need to let your kids know you won't be around for much longer. At this point, you have 6 to 12 months."

At his congregation the following week, my dad shared the incredible stories of the miraculous healing's he had witnessed the past few months. The congregation gathered around Bruce and prayed for his healing. As they did, my dad asked God for a physical manifestation as evidence of Bruce's healing - his back pain left, and they pressed in with more prayer.

He slept like a baby that night, for the first time in a long, long time.
He went back to get retested...
"This is impossible. Bruce, your PSA count dropped from 490 to 8.4!"
"Yes, I knew it! God healed me! My congregation prayed for me and Jesus healed me!"
"Really? Well... I don't have anything to say about that..."
"You cannot deny the results you see. "

Two weeks later, he got retested.
"Sir, your PSA count has dropped again to 2.4. You are officially cancer free. You can inform your kids you will be around for quite a long while."

This last test, when he was officially declared cancer free, took place about three weeks ago. God is so good!

...

Snapshots

Alright, I know I should have started this blog a few years ago, for how shall I get you au courant with everything that has transpired over the last few years? It could fill a book, and yet I do not want to subject you to reading an entire book at the moment. So a condensed update will have to suffice. In short, the past few years have been nothing short of absolutely miraculous.Here are a few snapshots: 

Biblical Training: 

2007: A 6 month Discipleship Training School with YWAM

2008 - 2009:  A 9 month School of Biblical Studies with YWAM

College Training: 2009 Fall and ensuing

• A special class~ I was accepted into the first ever ‘Scholars Program’ of the college; designed, among other things, to prod its students toward critical thinking, towards world issues, and toward questioning the meaning and basis of truth.

• An Apprehension~Truth has its root in Jesus- would I be the only one to stand up for truth in the class? Would I be criticized and ridiculed?

           

•  A Special Friendship~The first honors class shall forever be humorously etched in my mind as a representation of God’s faithfulness. I recall glancing across the elegant honors room, the air almost bristling with nervous tension, to a girl directly across from me. She was very eloquent and meticulously composed in speech, and I was certain she would cut me down every time I spoke out about God. To my great surprise, I found her to be a sister in Christ, and discovered in her a kindred spirit. She was part Italian, and had divinely been led to this particular college.To the other side of the room sat another girl that instantly caught my attention. She was part Japanese whose passion was to go back to Japan and help those in need. That was exactly what I wanted to do in India. Later The Lord brought into the class another lovely soul named Katy who reflected the purity of God in a way I had never seen before.  All of us 'happened' to be part of the same program within a tiny college in Montana.This was definitely God's orchestration. 

• Battle~The Scholars class did indeed serve to bring the most controversial issues to the surface, and I found myself in several deep conversations with people in the class about the truth of Christ. Those conversations were deep, meaningful, fraught with serious battles in the heavenlies, and absolutely priceless.  

• A salvation! ~One person in the scholars class, to our marvel, was on the journey to Christ- and through a series of miraculous events, finally accepted the gift of salvation! My father baptized him, and it was such a wonderful thing to be a part of as we rejoiced over the salvation of a soul. 

• The Truth Project~The only anchor to reality is truth. What is truth? In the midst of all the confusing theories swimming around in academia, my dad ran a video series called 'the truth project' which helped us as students to search below the superficial and ask this one question: ‘Do you really believe that what you believe is really real’?

• Liaison Officer~I had a rare opportunity during the year 2011. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was hosted in Montana. Six students from the college were chosen to be liaison officers; we were to be an interface between the United States and participating international ambassadors at the conference. I was assigned a Russian ambassador and what ensued were weeks of hectic planning, coordinating, working with Russian interpreters, and learning some Russian in the process :)

So much more has happened, and I have some exciting things to share, so keep tuned in! God bless you.